Florida Injury Update

Cody Jones

03/01/2012

The Gators head into this weekend's matchup at No. 12 Miami with some health questions. Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is unsure of the status of sophomore right-hander Karsten Whitson, but he did get some good news on two starting positions players.

Karsten Whitson came out of Sunday's start against William & Mary after throwing just 13 pitches. After the game, O'Sullivan said it was just "early season arm stuff" and that he wasn't worried about it.

His arm was set back after a groin issue kept him off the mound during fall workouts. Whitson threw well during spring scrimmages before the season, but there was only a month for him to get ready for the grind of the year.

"I don't see it being anything serious," O'Sullivan said after Sunday's outing. "When you have a special arm like that, you don't want to take any chances. You could tell he wasn't feeling his best. You'll see early season stuff where the arm just doesn't bounce back as quick as you want. I'm sure he's going to be fine."

O'Sullivan confirmed on Wednesday that everything is structurally sound in Whitson's throwing arm. The sophomore traveled with the team to Coral Gables for the season.

If Whitson is unable to pitch on Sunday against the Hurricanes, the Gators have some options. If that happens, O'Sullivan will wait before making that decision until Sunday. He has plenty of options from the bullpen, but he won't sacrifice using any of them in the first two games to save them for a start.

Florida's good news came on catcher Mike Zunino and second baseman Casey Turgeon. Zunino was pulled from catching in the ninth inning of Saturday's win over William & Mary because of a hamstring injury that he suffered when he was picked off first base late in the game.

Turgeon was pulled after a double in Sunday's game to be safe with a hamstring injury that was also plaguing him.

The two injuries shouldn't play a factor this weekend in Coral Gables. Florida has won eight straight games against Miami.